Revolut to launch in Japan and Singapore, as US expansion experiences further delays

Fintech startup Revolut has received authorisation from regulators in Japan and Singapore, operating under a licence similar to its UK business through partnerships with local banks.

The banking app hopes to launch in the Asia Pacific region in the first quarter of next year, with over 50,000 users already on its waiting list.

The news comes as Revolut has been expanding aggressively throughout 2018, both in terms of its products and its geographical reach.

A spokesperson for Revolut said its services would go live in Japan and Singapore ahead of a long-promised launch in the US, which was initially scheduled to happen earlier this year.

The price of doing business in the US comes at a high cost, however, particularly when launching elsewhere at the same time. The startup raised $250m (£195.2m) in April from a range of investors to fuel such expansion, and sources told City PM earlier this month that Revolut is in talks to raise a further $500m from Japanese mega-investor Softbank, in a deal set to close early next year.

“We’ve been working closely with the Singapore regulator to shape the future regulatory environment of the country,” Revolut co-founder and chief executive Nikolay Storonsky said today.

“We’re confident that we’ll disrupt the way banks traditionally function across [the Asian Pacific region] through our use of technology and innovation.”